Saving Roxy
by Linorien
Summary: No handler abandons their agents to an unknown fate. But sometimes they outsource. / Also posted on AO3 with artwork that is scaled properly


Thanks to Nekoii for being my beta on this.

* * *

She looked out the window. The fireball was coming for her. Fuck. Instinctually she dove across her room and leapt into the tub. She barely had time to activate her distress signal before the bomb hit.

She felt the floor drop out from under her. She fell. And kept falling. Hands over her head, she couldn't say for sure, but she assumed the entire mansion was plummeting into the earth.

She slammed into the hard porcelain. Then the ceiling slammed into her. Bits of tile and dirt rained down around her. She felt a rumble and then something else fell, knocking her unconscious.

When Roxy next woke, it was to a growling stomach. She rolled over, habitually reaching for her phone, but immediately realised she couldn't move. Opening her eyes, she could barely see in front of her. She remembered the explosion.

Twisting, she positioned herself to try to shove the rubble on top of her with her back. It wasn't easy, but soon she moved it enough to crouch and push the rest off. Looking around, she recognised the grey walls of the underground tunnels. She really had fallen far. And the mansion was clearly in no liveable condition anymore.

She carefully walked to the remains of her room that had fallen into the underground tunnels. The old oak furniture had proved remarkably resilient, protecting the contents of her wardrobe. She changed out of her ripped pyjamas and into proper clothes with thick soled shoes. Her computer was a wreck, as was her phone. Her lock box was in the vaults in the tunnels. It would be intact, but she didn't know if it would be accessible.

A rumble from her stomach reminded her that there were other things to look for in the tunnels first.

It was a testament of money and post-WWII paranoia that the tunnel system was nearly undamaged. Only the section directly hit by the bomb had collapsed. Once she climbed through the rubble it was almost like the explosion never happened.

Until she tried to contact Merlin. The network was dead. The bunker had switched into dark mode when the bomb was detected and she would need Merlin to reboot securely.

She hoped he and Eggsy were okay. She didn't know if this was a multi-pronged attack. She wiped her plate into the trash and set it beside the sink. However, for now, her body was telling her she needed sleep. Tomorrow she could try some backup methods of communication.

* * *

When she woke, her body was tense. She listened carefully, not moving. She could hear someone talking. It sounded like a one sided conversation. Rolling of the the cot, she crept toward the speaker.

It wasn't a voice she recognised. If it was the police, she would expect more noise. Perhaps it was a Kingsman she hadn't met yet. Best to not charge in with bullets firing. Not that she currently has a gun to fire anyways. The biometric locks were sealed in dark mode.

She followed the stranger carefully for a while, but he seemed to be looking for survivors. He must've also had an earpiece in. No one bickered with themselves. He had been following a fairly regular pattern of searching, so Roxy waited for him in the next room.

Leaning against the wall, she watched as he paused in the doorway. "Who are you?" she asked.

"Bond. James Bond." He walked a couple steps into the room. "Are you Lancelot?"

"Do I look like a knight?" she replied.

"What? No."

So he didn't know the code phrase. Not a Kingsman then.

"Oh, wait. Yes. You are wearing oxfords, not brogues."

He wasn't a Kingsman, but he was in contact with one.

"I am Lancelot. Who has your ear?"

"Q. He told me to give you these." Bond reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a pair of glasses. They looked like Merlin's glasses.

She swapped her focus for those. Similar to Kingsman video conferences, she could see a projected image of a person standing in the room with her. He was much younger than Merlin but he stood in front of a computer, typing with ease even as he looked up to meet her eyes.

"Good morning, Lancelot," he greeted. "I'm glad to see you are alright."

"Your name is Q?" she asked.

"I know, it's not a codename you know of. I am Merlin's backup contact. He didn't explain much when I got the signal, but the explosions gave it away."

"There was more than this one?"

"I'm afraid there were many more. Every Kingsman agent was targeted. Headquarters is gone, as are all the outpost branches."

Roxy slowly sank to the floor, back against the wall. "Did anyone survive?"

"I am still running checks. Merlin survived and was able to alert me before going dark. Galahad was not in residence but there are reports of a body."

"Oh no, one of his friends was watching his dog. That must be him. I saw the explosion but had hoped that it wasn't as bad as it looked. I should've known better."

"Civilian casualty then. No need to hush it up completely then."

"What did you say you do again?" Roxy asked. She thought he sounded almost too calm.

"I did not say. What you need to know is that I am Merlin's doomsday plan. Procedure dictates that I bring you somewhere safe. There were targetted attacks against all Kingsman agents. Everyone will be going dark and I am one of the dark locations. Agent Bond will escort you. You may take anything you think you need, but I can only delay the authorities for so long so do try to be fast."

Roxy stood up. There was a plan of attack now. "If you are Merlin's backup, I'm sure you know something about the systems. Can you open the biometric lockers?"

"That unfortunately I cannot do. It requires me to be there in person."

"Then I will be ready in just a couple minutes."

"Good. Keep the glasses for now." His image vanished. "I'll be here if anything comes up."

Roxy turned her attention back to Bond. He motioned to the door. "Lead the way, agent."


End file.
